VINdependent News & Updates

VINdependents who have not yet fulfilled their six-bottle annual commitment are invited to choose between three pre-configured shipments by December 26th: one mixed (the default), one red wine, and one white wine. Members are also, of course, welcome to choose their own six wines using our online order form. If no selection is made, classic shipment will be shipped the week of 1/12/26. The preconfigured options are:

Classic (Default)

• 1 bottle of Esprit de Tablas 2023 (Our newly-released flagship red blend, based on Mourvèdre, from the best lots of the vibrant 2023 vintage; 95 Vinous)
• 1 bottle of Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2023 (Our newly-released flagship white blend, based on Roussanne, from the best lots of 2023; 97 Owen Bargreen, 95 Vinous, 95 Decanter)
• 1 bottle of Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty Blanc 2024 (The Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty is the third white wine released in the Lignée de Tablas collection. All the grapes were grown at the Fenaughty Vineyard, at 2700+ feet in the El Dorado AVA of the Sierra Foothills.)
• 1 bottle of Côtes de Tablas 2023 (Our estate blend based on Grenache; 94 Wine Review Online, 93 Vinous, 93 Decanter)
• 1 bottle of Grenache 2023 (Our small-production varietal bottling of the Rhône's most planted red grape, vibrant and juicy; 94 Decanter, 93 Vinous, 93 Wine Review Online)
• 1 bottle of Patelin de Tablas Rosé 2024 (Our "neighborhood" Provence-style dry rosé, based on Grenache; 95 BevX, 93 Decanter)
• VINdependent Cost: $274.50

Red Wine Selection

White (and Rose) Wine Selection

• 1 bottle of Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2023 (Our newly-released flagship white blend, based on Roussanne, from the best lots of 2023; 97 Owen Bargreen, 95 Vinous, 95 Decanter)
• 1 bottle of Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty Blanc 2024 (The Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty is the third white wine released in the Lignée de Tablas collection. All the grapes were grown at the Fenaughty Vineyard, at 2700+ feet in the El Dorado AVA of the Sierra Foothills.)
• 1 bottle of Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2024 (Our showcase for Viognier's lushness, brightened by Marsanne & Grenache Blanc; 93 James Suckling, 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 Owen Bargreen)
• 1 bottle of Grenache Blanc 2024 (Our varietal bottling of this lovely white Rhone with both richness and brightness; 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 91 James Suckling)
• 1 bottle of Patelin de Tablas Blanc 2024 (Our Grenache Blanc-based white Rhone blend; 94 BevX, 90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate)
• 1 bottle of Patelin de Tablas Rosé 2024 (Our "neighborhood" Provence-style dry rosé, based on Grenache; 95 BevX, 93 Decanter)
• VINdependent Cost: $229.50

To receive the default mixed shipment, members need do nothing, though if you'd like it sooner than the week of January 12th please let us know. Those who prefer a different pre-configured shipment or a different ship date, or who have questions about shipments or membership, should contact the wine club team at 805.237.1231 x236 or wineclub@tablascreek.com.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in our barrel tasting and sale en primeur of Tablas Creek Vineyard's remarkable wines from the outstanding 2024 vintage: Esprit de Tablas, Panoplie, and for the first time, our new Panoplie Blanc.

Offering wine en primeur is a time-honored French tradition most often associated with first-growth Bordeaux estates. In outstanding vintages, valued customers are offered the opportunity to secure a limited quantity of sought-after wines at a special price in advance of bottling. The wines will be available for delivery or pickup in fall 2026.

To RSVP to the En Primeur Tasting on December 6th: Proprietor Jason Haas and Executive Winemaker Neil Collins will host a live En Primeur tasting on December 6th. Join us for a discussion of the 2024 vintage and wines. RSVP by mail, phone, or online using this link.

To Order: Visit our Futures order page here.

To Taste: You may taste the wine on your own schedule by visiting our tasting room between October 31st and December 6th, and we will pour you the new Esprit and Panoplie. Book your tasting.

The 2024 Vintage:

The 2024 vintage began with our second consecutive wet winter, giving the vines good reserves for the growing season. After a normal budbreak and a cool first half of the summer, those reserves were tested by our warmest-ever July and above-average temperatures through October. That led to a compressed harvest that was largely done by the second week of October and yields roughly 20% below our long-term averages. The low yields and warm year combined to produce fruit with intense flavors and noteworthy vibrancy.

The Wines:

• 2024 Esprit de Tablas: Esprit de Tablas is Tablas Creek's signature red blend, always led by the dark red fruit, earth, spice and mid-palate richness of Mourvèdre (40%), along with additions of Syrah (27%), Grenache (20%), Counoise (5%), Vaccarèse (4%), and Cinsaut (4%). In this intense, low-yielding vintage, all the varieties thrived, and we had plenty of good options in our blending trials. The relatively high percentage of both Mourvèdre and Syrah gives the wine luscious fruit equally balanced between red and black, with plush texture, chewy tannins, and earthy elements like new leather and loam that hint at years of fascinating development.
• 2024 Panoplie: Panoplie is our elite Mourvèdre-based cuvée, made in the model of Château de Beaucastel's Hommage à Jacques Perrin and selected from the top 3% of lots that come into the cellar each vintage. Mourvèdre has a remarkable ability to age, adding meaty depth to dark medium fruit, without the hardness many ageworthy red grapes have in their youth. In 2024, we chose three exceptional lots of Mourvèdre to represent 58% of the wine. We then added two powerful lots of Syrah (20%) and one glorious lot of Grenache (22%). The resulting Panoplie allows the purity of the Mourvèdre fruit to shine.
• 2024 Panoplie Blanc: The high-quality but low-yielding 2024 vintage allowed us to make our first-ever Panoplie Blanc, dedicated to Beaucastel’s most important white grape, Roussanne, and like Panoplie made from the top 3% of our white lots. We identified three lots of Roussanne (making up 70% of the blend) and one each of Grenache Blanc (25%) and Picpoul Blanc (5%) that we thought had the requisite character and intensity. The resulting wine is powerful but lovely, very Roussanne in character, with flavors of crème brûlée and baked pear, a nice moderate dose of sweet oak, and appealing pithiness at the end.